The 2016 Region V Student Conference was hosted by the Iowa State University student branch of AIAA in Ames, IA on April 6-8, 2016. The Conference is hosted annually by different Region V chapters, with the objective to provide students an opportunity to present their research and technical papers in public competition and prepare them for a future in aerospace engineering.

AEM undergraduate student, Apurva Badithela submitted a presentation for the Community Outreach Category and won second place. The Community Outreach Category aims to promote interactions between the student members of AIAA and K-12 students that stimulate interest in aerospace education and careers. Example activities include assisting with local design competitions at the high school level (MESA, NASA, Conrad Foundation, Real World Design, and others), providing technical mentoring and role models for younger students, or presenting talks to local K-12 students about college design and research projects. Badithela did not personally attend the conference but the U of M AIAA chapter Vice-President, Katherine Glasheen presented on her behalf.

Badithela’s presentation discussed the University of Minnesota’s AIAA Student Chapter's goals for community outreach, which include engaging K-12 students with hands-on STEM projects and getting them excited about Aerospace Engineering. She says, “The presentation summarized our outreach efforts and our plans for expanding our outreach programs in the future. The AIAA Region 5 Student Conference provides a great opportunity to showcase our efforts and interact with other AIAA members from other student chapters.”